Africa: Transport

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking, through their development programmes, to improve transport infrastructure in Africa.

Baroness Amos: This Government believe that transport infrastructure is essential for development. It is an engine for economic growth in developing countries. Safe, reliable transport is also crucial if poor people are to get to markets, health clinics and schools. The Department for International Development (DfID) provided over £120 million for transportation and communication in Africa between 2001-02 and 2004-05.
	In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), DfID has provided £9 million to improve transport to and from isolated communities and help delivery of humanitarian aid. DfID is also developing a £36 million five-year road rehabilitation and maintenance programme. This will open 1,300 kilometres of principal road links, re-establishing access for the population and supporting reintegration of the country.
	In southern Sudan DfID has provided £10 million to the World Food Programme's road rehabilitation programme. This will rehabilitate key sections of the road network to create better links between regions, and with northern Sudan and neighbouring countries. This will improve access to markets and services for the war-affected population.
	Transportation is also a priority for the recently established Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, a G8 Gleneagles commitment to facilitate infrastructure investment in Africa, particularly cross-border infrastructure. DfID has committed £12 million to support its work.

Copyright

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the provisions of the Copyright and Performances (Application to Other Countries) Order 2006 (SI 2006/316), whether they have had discussions with the countries named in the schedule concerning the possibility of extending the maximum copyright protection to all types of artistic output listed in the schedule.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: We have not entered into discussions with the individual countries listed. The United Kingdom takes part in international discussions on copyright law, with many of the countries listed in the schedule, in the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Trade Organisation.
	The level of copyright protection granted in the United Kingdom to works originating in other countries is dependent on the treaties and conventions to which the country of origin is a party. The United Kingdom does not provide protection beyond that which it is obliged to give under the EC Treaty and the various intellectual property treaties. However, the United Kingdom does grant reciprocal protection to the works of a particular country, where it is not a party to a particular convention, in cases where that country provides or will provide reciprocal protection to British works. Section 159(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 prohibits greater protection being granted to works of other countries on any other basis.

Drugs: Treatment Budget

Lord Adebowale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to increase the pooled drug treatment budget for 2007–08.

Lord Warner: No decisions have been made on the level of pooled drug treatment budget funding for 2007-08.

Energy: Hydrogen

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What recent consideration they have given to the use of hydrogen as an alternative form of energy.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Hydrogen is an "energy carrier" rather than a fuel source, as, like electricity, it can only be produced using energy.
	Hydrogen can be used in a fuel cell, where it produces zero emissions at the point of use, and in normal combustion—for example, in an internal combustion engine.
	In 2004, the Department of Trade and Industry, commissioned analysis from the energy consultants E4Tech, Element Energy, and Eoin Lees Energy. That analysis indicates that, for the UK, the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel offers significant opportunities for cost-competitive CO2 reduction by 2030. Six different types of transport energy chain have this potential and offer increased energy security. None is readily available today and each would require significant changes to the energy system. However, they are sufficiently promising to be worth pursuing as energy options for the UK. This analysis was published on the department's website and can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/hydrogen/page26734.html.
	On 15 June 2005, the Government responded to this analysis and published A Strategic Framework for Hydrogen Energy Activity in the UK, which included a funding package from the DTI of £15 million over four years for a UK-wide hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration programme. The demonstration scheme is in preparation, and will require EC state aid approval.
	Currently, the Department of Trade and Industry supports industrial collaborative research and development for fuel cell and hydrogen technologies through the technology programme. Bids specifically for hydrogen technologies have been invited since April 2005. The programme seeks to advance these technologies for both stationary power generation and transport applications, with a view to achieving the cost reductions and performance levels necessary for commercial deployment. This support currently amounts to approximately £2 million to £3 million per annum.
	The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), including through the Supergen initiative, supports basic research in universities on both fuel cells and hydrogen. Supergen supports the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK SHEC), which has received funding of £2.5 million. This programme is supporting projects on hydrogen generation, hydrogen storage and socio-economic implications for a hydrogen economy. In addition to Supergen, EPSRC has awarded £1 million to investigate the potential role of formic acid as a chemical method for the storage of hydrogen. Funding of £500,000 has been granted to three projects on fundamental science and engineering relevant to the hydrogen economy. EPSRC also contributes to projects through the DTI's technology programme. More widely, the research councils EPSRC, ESRC and NERC have recently established the UK Energy Research Centre.
	The Government have also provided funding of over £450,000 for the trial of three hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses in London as part of the EU CUTE (clean urban transport in Europe) project. Funding of £7.5 million has been provided for the fuel cell and low-carbon vehicle technology centre of excellence (CENEX) based in Loughborough.
	The Department for Transport announced in January, as part of its Horizons innovative research programme, a competition for projects to investigate the options for the further steps required to move to the adoption of a hydrogen transport infrastructure. It is hoped to support between two and four projects examining the practicality and timing of the introduction of the required infrastructure to support hydrogen-fuelled vehicles at a cost of up to £500,000.

Hepatitis C: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 30 March (WA 147) on the administration of the Skipton fund, what representations they have received from Mrs Harriet Bullock, the widow of a National Health Service patient infected with hepatitis C by contaminated National Health Service blood products; and what response is being made.

Lord Warner: Mrs Harriet Bullock has written to Ministers on several occasions concerning the administration of the Skipton fund. The Department of Health has provided a response on each occasion. My noble friend may wish to obtain responses directly from Mrs Bullock, rather than through these channels.

Israel and Palestine: Gaza

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the supply of medicines and general medical supplies in Gaza.

Baroness Amos: The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that medicines and medical supplies are still available to public clinics and hospitals in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, supplies are limited, and 51 out of 450 essential drugs are out of stock. DfID is monitoring the humanitarian situation in close contact with WHO and other United Nations agencies.

Israel and Palestine: Occupied Territories

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What international body is responsible for monitoring the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories.

Baroness Amos: The international body responsible for monitoring the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). DfID is in close contact with OCHA's office in Jerusalem on the evolving humanitarian situation.

Palestine: Children

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the nutritional state of Palestinian children.

Baroness Amos: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that chronic malnutrition (or stunting) in children under five has increased from 8 per cent in 2000 to 10 per cent now. The children most affected are in the Gaza Strip and are between 12 and 23 months old.
	DfID continues to monitor the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, working closely with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other United Nations agencies.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 3 May (HL5135), whether the Department of Trade and Industry will in future hold information about the department's compliance with the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendations in a way which permits public access to that information.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The department has no plans to change the way it holds records relating to the handling of cases raised with the department by the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 29 March (WA 126), on how many occasions since 1997, and in respect of which specific recommendations, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has advised that it has no record of any instance where it refused or omitted to give effect to a specific recommendation by the Ombudsman.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 29 March (WA 126), on how many occasions since 1997, and in respect of which specific recommendations, the Regional Development Agency has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The department has no record of an occasion since 1997 when the Regional Development Agency has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 29 March (WA 126), on how many occasions since 1997, and in respect of which specific recommendations, the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Parliamentary Ombudsman has made no recommendations to the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council since the council was established in November 2000.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 29 March (WA 126), on how many occasions since 1997, and in respect of which specific recommendations, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Lord Warner: This information is not held centrally. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not keep a central record. However, the HFEA has advised me that, to the best of its knowledge, there have been no occasions when it has not accepted the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 29 March (WA 126), on how many occasions since 1997, and in respect of which specific recommendations, the Medical Research Council has refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Medical Research Council has not refused or omitted to give effect to any recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen since 1997.

People Trafficking

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to ratify the Palermo protocol, which seeks to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to sign the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and its associated protocols—including the Palermo protocol on trafficking in human beings. We recently ratified the convention and its protocols on smuggling and trafficking, having put in place all the legislative requirements to bring our law into compliance with these instruments. The UK ratified the convention and protocols on 9 February 2006 and they have an effective date of 11 March 2006.